Outdoors with AJ

Ed Kimmill is a backpacker, a hammock camper, a fly fisherman, a kayaker, and a father.  Ed and I talk about our obsessions with gear, hammocks, making stuff, quality fishing gear and more on a great conversation between two enthusiasts.

Casey and I talk all things backpacking, hammock camping, kayaking, camping with your dog and more.

I met Casey through the Hammock Forums facebook group and we've been chatting through messenger ever since.

He's got a ton of knowledge on the Red River Gorge area of Kentucky in the Daniel Boone Wildernerss and he's super into the cottage vendor hammock scene.

Katie N. (KTSue22 IG) and I chat all things John Muir Trail.  Katie is an absolute badass and attempted to tackle one of the most challenging hikes in the United States, 200 miles and 38,000 feet of elevation in only 14 days.

Nick with Triple Nickel Outdoors Joined me on the podcast to talk about his upcoming journey on the John Muir Trail (JMT).  Nick is a former member of the United States Air Force, and currently works as a firefighter in the state of New York.  We had a great conversation about the JMT and how Nick is preparing for the trip.  

Nick and I met through hammock forums online and soon followed each other on social media channels.  We've stayed in touch over the last year or so and I was elated to hear he'd gotten a permit for a hike that many of us backpackers consider a bucket list trip.  We chat about expectations, gear, food prep and a ton more.

This was easily one of my favorite interviews so far.

Spring is in the air in the midwest marking the end of my local backpacking season and the beginning of summer float trip season.  I start off super basic, and give you the basics of what to expect on your first float trip, how to book a trip, how to plan for it, and how to maximize your fun once you are actually out there.

We'll discuss:

• Planning
• Float Basics
• Types of water craft
• Gear to bring and what to leave at home
• Where to sleep, and how to do it most comfortably
• What food/beverages to bring and what not to
• Much Much More

In this episode of outdoors podcast, my neighbor, Richie Sewell and I sit down to talk about his true passion, hunting. 

I ask Richie a whole slew of questions about hunting turkeys, deer, bigger game like elk and moose and more.  He's a wealth of knowledge and filled in a ton of the gaps that I was really curious about.

Have you ever wondered how much deer tags cost?  How about how much is costs to have a deer processed into sausage and steaks?  We cover all of that and a ton more, including some fun stories from Richie's life in the great outdoors.  I hope to have him on often as he's done a ton of exploring, all over the country.

He was kind enough to share a piece of Venison Loin from one of his bucks last year with me, and I'll be doing a post about how I prepared it, according to a Gordon Ramsay Recipe.  

Enjoy,

Kayle McClean and I spent over a year working together at a marketing/branding agency in St. Louis.  Kayle is a Canadian by birth, and citizenship as I learned. 

We talked about camping, backpacking, hammocks, campers, float trips and more.  I really enjoyed this episode and I know you will do.

Ben Kline, a long time high school buddy of mine and I sit down to talk about Ben's forray into backpacking.  Althought he's only been at it a few years now, Ben has already taken some pretty epic trips to Olympia, Sawtooth, Zion and Glacier.

We talk through his gear, how he prepares for trips and some of the lessons he's learned as he's gone.  I really enjoyed this conversation and I think you will too!

Mr. Henningsen, or Bob and I sat down in his beautiful home in St. Louis to discus his lifetime journey of backpacking.  Although he taught at the highschool I attended, I never had him for English, the subject he so fondy passed on to generations of eager students.

Bob shares many of the great trips he's been on both with friends and as a solo effort.  He describes his travels through Europe, and also, on the Ozark Trail here in Missouri.

I'm sure he's going to look at the sentance structures of this description and cringe as my punctuation and grammer haven't gotten any better since the 7th grade, sorry Mrs. Richardson!

This is one of my favorite interviews to date, a real treasure trove of great knowledge and experience.

Joe and I talked for nearly two hours about a wide range of topics.  Joe and I share a love for hammock backpacking, camping, red wine, dogs and all sorts of other topics, that we discus...at length.

If you are into backpack, camping, hunting ethics, hunting laws (that we clearly know nothing about) you should enjoy this episode.